An Outpost With an Eye on Development

AS Buckberg Road climbs sharply up a historic mountainside in Stony Point -- with spectacular views of the Hudson River -- it unveils a storied tapestry of a northern Rockland County town where territorial battles have played a central role on more than one occasion.

During the Revolutionary War, a battle plotted from one of the highest elevations in town was waged between the British and Continental armies.

Today, 227 years after Gen. George Washington and Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne masterminded their successful assault against the enemy camped below, another kind of battle is being waged, this time between housing developers and the town's planning board.

And, Buckberg Road, as the former dirt path was eventually named, has become a different kind of outpost: a new suburban frontier for buyers priced out of housing markets closer to New York City.

Thirty-five miles from Midtown Manhattan and a 60-mile-an-hour drive along the Palisades Interstate Parkway to the George Washington Bridge, Buckberg Road and other once-verdant mountainsides in Rockland's northernmost town these days are sprouting 5,000-square-foot homes instead of trees.

Winding up the steep road, stone walls from previous centuries still mark out lots. Along the ascent, modest cabins and stately Victorians from the late 1800's and early 1900's give way to ranches and splits, built in the 1960's and 70's. Finally, at the peak of the mountain, newly built single-family homes sell for $925,000 and up and claim the choicest perch in town, a view of Tompkins Cove on the river's edge below.

The riverfront today is a place much changed since the Continental army fought there, with marinas now dotting the shoreline and chimney stacks of factories smoking across the way.

Elsewhere in the 28-square-mile town, luxury homes in subdivisions similarly abut forests and open space, having radically altered the landscape in less than a decade.

This surge in development recently prompted the town's newly elected supervisor, Philip A. Marino, to vow to turn the tide of development.

"We built houses on the sides of mountains where we should never have permitted them, and we're paying for it now," Mr. Marino said. "I want development slowed down."

Aware that overdevelopment could obliterate much of Stony Point's charm, Mr. Marino has encouraged planners to measure growth in terms of environmental outcomes, not just tax revenue.

What You'll Find

Not everyone living in Stony Point is unhappy with the onrush of new housing. For residents like Victor and Helen Diaz, the 5,000-square-foot colonial in Stony Ridge Estates that they bought for $1.2 million last year, provided more house for the money than they could have purchased elsewhere in Rockland or in Westchester County, on the east side of the Hudson.

Mr. Diaz, a mortgage consultant, said the family moved from a 3,000-square-foot contemporary with three bedrooms in Congers, another Rockland town, to the five-bedroom colonial in Stony Ridge Estates so that his children -- Victoria and Parisrae, 8-year-old twins; Vincent, 5; and Victor, 3 -- would have more room.

"The whole Congers area was getting too congested for us," Mr. Diaz said. "We like the open spaces here."

When Stony Ridge Estates, one of the highest-priced subdivisions in Stony Point, was first being built five years ago, houses there sold for $750,000 and up, said Aldo Loria, an associate broker for Prudential Rand Realty, which is marketing the homes. Today, the houses start at $1.4 million. Meanwhile, the cost of land has escalated significantly, with typical lots of 0.75 to 1.5 acres in the subdivision now going for $500,000, Mr. Loria said.

"Before, a $1 million house in Stony Point was unheard of," he said. "The town used to be considered the outskirts of Rockland County. Now it's fast becoming one of the county's most affluent areas. At the Meadows, a development next to Stony Ridge Estates -- both projects are being build by MBC Contractors, which is based in Stony Point -- prices for new houses start at $3 million.

Elsewhere in the town, which includes the hamlet of Tomkins Cove, are Point and Jones Point, other luxury developments similarly altering wooded hillsides and former ski sites.

There are also neighborhoods on side streets along Route 9A at the foot of the mountainside, where strip malls line the main thoroughfare. In contrast to the roadways that climb to higher elevations, many of the side streets near the center of town are lined with modest Capes, ranches, splits and colonials. There are no condominiums or co-ops in Stony Point, and except for one senior housing project, there are no rental apartment houses.

What You'll Pay

The median sales price of a single-family home in Stony Point, a town of some 14,245 people, was $452,000 last year, up from $429,900 in 2004 and $377,500 in 2003, according to figures from the Rockland County Board of Realtors.

"It's been a steady increase," Mr. Loria said. "Stony Point is moving up. It used to be that for $175,000 to $225,000, you could find a two- or three-bedroom Cape or bilevel in good condition. Now if you find anything for $300,000, it probably needs a lot of work. And forget about anything under that."

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Currently near the top of the market, a newly built, 5,600-square-foot stucco residence with a two-story entrance, six bedrooms and four and a half baths is listed at $1.389 million in Stony Ridge Estates.

In the middle range, a four-bedroom, three-bath colonial built in 1974 is listed at $689,000. At the lower end for single family homes, a three-bedroom, one-bath colonial that dates back to 1850 is on the market for $399,000.

Property taxes, which are still relatively low compared with other areas, are expected to soar. Currently, the annual taxes on the colonial selling for $399,000 are $2,475; on the houses selling for $689,000, they are $7,744 a year.

But the town is in the process of settling a property tax dispute with the local power company, the Mirant Corporation, which could mean that the town would agree to pay rebates to Mirant or even lower its assessment. If that happens, said Mr. Marino, the supervisor, taxes would have to be raised elsewhere. "We're not going to sugar-coat it," he said. "It's going to be a bitter pill. The schools have told people to prepare for increases as high as 40 percent."

What to Do

Harriman State Park and Bear Mountain State Park, both of which are used for hiking and mountain biking, account for three-quarters of Stony Point's acreage. This time of year, Bear Mountain also offers ice skating and skiing; during the warmer months, places to swim and boat abound. Overnight accommodations are available at the Bear Mountain Inn, which overlooks Hessian Lake, with lakeside lodges offering a more rustic and private atmosphere.

Now part of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, the green area was saved in the early 1900's from development by E. H. Harriman, the president of the Union Pacific Railroad, and a group of wealthy businessmen who donated land and large sums of money to preserve the parkland.

Several years ago, the town bought a section of Letchworth Village, formerly a state-owned residence for the mentally retarded, and turned it into a public golf course.

At the town-owned Riverfront Park, residents can fish, look for crabs and play volleyball. At Veterans Park, baseball fields and tennis courts are available. In summer, children can attend a town-sponsored day camp.

For evening entertainment, restaurants abound in the area. There's also the Penguin Repertory Company, with theater performances beginning in late spring and running through October.

The Haverstraw-Stony Point Central School District offers kindergarten through Grade 5 in five elementary schools and Grades 6 to 8 at three middle schools. All public school students in Grade 9 through 12 attend North Rockland High School. There's also the Roman Catholic Immaculate Conception School for kindergarten through Grade 8.

In a program called Project Advance, North Rockland High School offers courses in government, economics and statistics in association with Syracuse University. Through the program, students can earn transferable college credits, said Dennis Hand, the principal.

Students taking the SAT tests last year scored an average of 506 on the verbal and 508 on the math sections. The state averages last year were 497 for verbal and 511 for math.

The Commute

The Red & Tan Lines provide bus service, which takes about two hours from Stony Point to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, and costs $8.30 each way.

But many residents prefer to drive straight down the Palisades Parkway to Manhattan via the George Washington Bridge.

The History

The earliest known inhabitants, long before the British and Dutch made their way up the Hudson, were Algonquin Indians, among them the Mohegans, the Munsees, Lenni Lenapes, Tappans, Hackensacks and the Sint-Sings.

The first European settlers were the Dutch, who settled in Tappan in Rockland County in the 1680's. By the 1770's, the river had become a busy commercial area.

What We Like

Stony Point's greatest assets are its breathtaking views of the Hudson River from the higher elevations, and the colorful marina district down along the water's edge.

What We'd Change

For major shopping or the larger chain restaurants, or to see a movie, Stony Point residents have to drive about 15 minutes to New City, the Palisades Center in West Nyack or other locations in Rockland County.

Living In | Stony Point, N.Y. Correction: January 29, 2006, Sunday The "Living In " column last Sunday, about Stony Point, N.Y., misstated the source of data on the median sales prices of houses for the last three years. It was the Greater Hudson Valley Multiple Listing Service, not the Rockland County Board of Realtors.